Car-coupling



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. HERRENS.

I GAR GOUPLING. No. 250,733. Patented D'e0.13,14881.

AMW v1 WMQ Attorneys 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.) 7

M. HERRENS. GAR COUPLING.

Patented Dec. 13,1881.

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TATES PATENT OFFrc.

MICHAEL HERRENS, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,733, dated December13, 1881.

Application filed July 2, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL HERRENS, of St. Louis, in the county of St.Louisand State of Missouri,have invented certain new and usefulImprovementsin Car-Couplings and ldo hereby declare thatthe following isa full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference beinghad totheaccompanyingdrawings, which form a part ofthis specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful device for coupling anduncoupling railroad-cars or the like; and the novelty consists in theconstruction and arrangement of parts, as will be more fullyhereinafterset forth, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Theinventionis designed as an improvement upon the device patented to meSeptember 30, 1879, and numbered 220,146; and the objects to that endare essentially, first, to provide auxiliary means for accommodating anyform of link-coupling upon foreign cars 5 second, to divide the strainwhich ordinarily comes upon the pivot of the coupling-pin, and impartingthe greater share thereof upon a separate bearing through brace-armsrigid with the pin; third,

to provide for uncoupling the cars without slack in the connections byemploying inclined bearings for the draft; and, fourth, in providingmeans for holding the coupling devices out of operation at will. Toetl'ect these ends Iemploy the mechanisms fully illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and inwhich- Figure 1 is a side view, broken away to show the coupling-pin andbrace-frame; Fig. 2, a similar view, showing the weighted couplinglink;Fig. 3, a face view of the draw-head, and Fig. 4 a section showing theauxiliary coupling means. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of two draw-headsinterlocked, and Fig. 6 is a plan view.

To enable others skilled in the art to which the invention relates tomake and use the invention, I will describe the construction and mode ofoperation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts in all thefigures, and in which- A represents the draw-head, having the or- (Nomodel.)

ing the cars together before the uncoupling can be accomplished.

Secured to the pin 0 is a. brace-frame, D,

which extends backward and downward, its

gravity, from its connection to the pin at a point adjacent to thepivot, serving to hold the pin in a normal vertical position. Formed inthe forward surface of the brace frame are notches d, which engage across-bar, d, which extends across the chamber B. It will be observedthat with this construction the chamhers B and B are open from top tobottom, and that ice and snow are not allowed to collect therein toobstruct or defeat the efficient operation of the devices in severeweather. It will further be observed that the incline 0 allows thefriction between the link and pin to be readily overcome, in order toeffect the disengagement of the cars, and that the wrenching strain uponthe pivotal pin 1) is distributed through the brace-frame D to thecross-pin d.

Pivoted at b in the chamber 13 is a link, E,

having inclined or beveled point e, and the inner end surface of thesame rounded, as shown at e. The portion E of the link behind the pivotis much the heaviest, and serves, with a constant force, to hold thelink in operative connection with the coupling-pin of the adjacent car.The portion E forms a standard, from which extends in either direction acrossbar or lever, E, by means of which the link may be depressed or thepin elevated to accomplish the disengagement.

From one side of the draw-head extends a standard, F, having a roundedsurface, f, and- It often occurs that it becomes necessary or desirableto couple with a single link car or cars of other constructionsbelonging to other roads, and in such cases a disengagement of theordinary devices has been resorted to to accommodate such car. I providefor such emergency by forming in the draw-head, preferably between thechambers B B, an auxiliary link-chamber, B having removable link x andcoupling-pin so. These devices are very necessary upon occasions such ashereinbefore mentioned, and they are formed in the device shown with aminimum of extra trouble, expense, or space.

From this description, in connection with the drawings,the operation ofmy device is obvious.

Various modificationsmay be made in details of construction withoutdeparting from the principle or sacrificing the advantages of myinvention, the essential features of which are embodied in the means foruncoupling while under draft, means for relieving the pin-pivot from thevolume of strain, auxiliary means for accommodating link-couplings ofother constructions, means for preventing the accumulation of snow andice, and means for automatically holding the coupling-lever elevated andthe link out of operation.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patentof the United States, is

1. The coupling-pin O,pivoted at b, and having downwardly and forwardlyinclined bearing-surface 0, combined with the brace-frame D, havingnotches d, and with the cross-pin d, as and for the purposes specified.

2. The coupling-link E, having standard E and operating-lever E combinedwith the standard F f and spring G, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination of the pin 0 0, brace D d, link E c e E E standard Ff, and spring G, with the draw-head haviugchambers B B and auxiliarychamber B and with the cross-pins d, as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing. as my own 1 have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

MICHAEL HERRENS.

Witnesses:

J. R. LITTELL, H. CLAY SMITH.

